KOJI THE KITCHEN Academy 2025 Winter

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　※This page is for the event on February 20, 2025.

Information on the latest event is updated here.

What is KTK Academy?

KOJI THE KITCHEN is a project launched in 2021 by Kojiya Sanzaemon, a seed koji manufacturer with 600 years of history, to explore the new possibilities of "koji" and create a food culture. In recent years, "koji" and the concept of fermentation have become some of the most attention-grabbing ingredients worldwide in various fields such as "gastronomy," "food tech," "gut health," and "food and agriculture." Kojiya Sanzaemon, a seed koji manufacturer, has walked hand-in-hand with koji-making as the foundation of Japanese culture for 600 years. KOJI THE KITCHEN Academy is where Kojiya Sanzaemon navigates participants to learn about koji from various perspectives, including history, culture, art, and sociology, and to explore its future potential through hands-on experience and tasting, engaging all five senses.

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　KOJI THE KITCHEN Academy is a place where you can learn about the past, present, and global movements surrounding koji, from the microscopic view of koji mold to the macroscopic view of the earth and the scale of human history. It's a place to actually touch, taste, and discuss koji to explore its future applications. 　Koji has historically been an indispensable "ingredient" supporting the foundation of Japanese cuisine, used in miso, soy sauce, mirin, and sake. Kojiya Sanzaemon, which has been in the business of selling koji and manufacturing seed koji for generations, has also walked alongside this food culture for 600 years. 　In recent years, globally renowned chefs have embraced koji fermentation as a culinary technique and an identity of gastronomy. Koji is also playing a role in food tech, such as alternative foods and upcycling, expanding multi-directionally worldwide beyond the realm of a mere ingredient. 　"KOJI THE KITCHEN" was launched in October 2021 to combine Kojiya Sanzaemon's expertise with new ideas and to create and explore new possibilities for koji. 　KOJI THE KITCHEN Academy offers a program to learn about koji with all five senses and apply it to the future, through a basic course on koji and seed koji, discussions, workshops, lectures by guests, and a dinner prepared by a hotel executive chef. Would you like to join us in exploring the potential of koji in the Mikawa region of Aichi Prefecture, a hidden gourmet paradise boasting some of Japan's leading agricultural production and branded livestock?

Recommended for:

● Those who want to differentiate their business by incorporating koji or fermentation
● Those who want to deepen their knowledge of keywords related to koji
● Those who want to convey the charm of Japanese cuisine and koji to the world
● Those who want to connect with colleagues from various industries and professions centered around koji
● Those who are looking for solutions to environmental issues in food
● Those who want to experience successful cases of local ingredients × koji with all five senses
● Those who want to be among the first to experience the new possibilities of koji

※No prior knowledge is required. We welcome participants from diverse backgrounds.

Latest Information

Latest information

This blog delivers the latest news on the KOJI THE KITCHEN project.
Updates are also announced on Kojiya Sanzaemon's Twitter (X) account.

Click here for the latest information

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Program Highlights

Overview of Seed Koji Lecture

Lecture &
Discussion

Guest Lecture
Panel Discussion

Fermented Full-Course Dinner

種麹概論

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Seed Koji Overview Lecture

A course on the basic knowledge of koji and seed koji using original texts adapted from the training content of Kojiya Sanzaemon and the Bioc Group. Since it uses actual seed koji (koji mold) handled by Kojiya Sanzaemon and koji made from different koji molds, even beginners without prior knowledge can easily understand the history and diversity of koji and seed koji, and grasp the basic concepts.

【Topic Keywords】　●What are koji and seed koji?　●Formation and history of seed koji　●Role of koji mold in various fermented foods　●Differences in processes from other fermented foods　●Types of seed koji　●Differences due to seed koji and koji mold　●Overview of foods related to koji　●How to make koji　etc.

discussion

Lecture and Discussion

After a lecture guided by seed koji, divided into two themes: ① Nature and Humans, and ② Global Environment, Regional Culture, and Tradition, participants engage in a discussion.

*Content may vary depending on participants' interests and discussions.

① What is natural? How are the balance between preserving nature and mastering technology achieved? We will deepen our thoughts through the relationship between koji mold and humans.

【Topic Keywords】　●"Nature" and "Artificial"　●What are natural microorganisms?　●The boundary and interaction between microorganisms and humans　●What are fermentation and putrefaction?　●Are enzymes living things?　●Is koji-making "agriculture" or "cooking"?　●Differences between the Earth and the world　　etc.

② We will consider how humanity has formed food cultures and imbued them with meaning using microorganisms, incorporating perspectives from political history, economic history, and cultural history.

【Topic Keywords】　●Brewing cultures around the world　●Japanese fermented foods　●Terroir and koji mold　●Haiku and brewing　●Bricolage and fermentation　●Fermented foods as commodities, crafts, and art　●Regional revitalization and koji mold　etc.

調理講話

Guest Lecture

A guest lecture featuring Shoya Imai, representative and brewer of Phantom Brewery LINNÉ, established in 2024. Mr. Imai will share his experiences as a master brewer cultivated in three countries, his current initiatives in sake brewing, particularly concerning koji, and his future vision. We will broaden our perspective toward the future regarding the diversity brought about by various koji molds and brewing methods.

Panel Discussion

A dialogue-style discussion featuring Shoya Imai of LINNÉ, Yuichiro Murai, the 29th head of Kojiya Sanzaemon, and Yohei Shiraishi, head of the research lab. The three, who have been involved in brewing, fermentation, and koji from different perspectives, will discuss the past, present, and future possibilities and challenges of brewing, focusing on areas of high interest to participants.

ディナー

Koji × Higashi-Mikawa Exclusive Dinner Course

An exclusive dinner course to savor examples of Koji × "Gourmet Food" and "Regional Revitalization". Hotel Arc Riche Toyohashi Executive Chef Takeshi Imasato supervises this course exclusively for KOJI THE KITCHEN Academy each time. It is a full course full of diversity, using first-class ingredients from Higashi-Mikawa and incorporating koji and fermentation in all dishes. You will enjoy it in the main dining room on the 16th floor of the hotel.

*Photos are from 2024. Please look forward to the exclusive menu for this event.

2025 Winter Event Benefits

Participants will receive an original text of about 60 pages used in the seed koji general theory, two types of seed koji that can be used for kitchen-sized koji making, and an original KOJI THE KITCHEN tenugui. In addition, Phantom Brewery LINNÉ's craft sake "800" will be offered.

　In past events, various professionals gathered, including startup managers in fermented foods, inbound tourism professionals, chefs, R&D and marketing personnel from food manufacturers, expatriates making koji, cooking school owners, farmers, and agricultural science students, fostering a community centered around koji. The overall satisfaction score in surveys consistently averages over 9.5 out of 10 points.

mentor

Instructors

Yuichiro Murai
29th Head of Kojiya Sanzaemon

After graduating from Keio University, he obtained an MBA in Global Management in Arizona, USA. After gaining experience in the family business, he became the head in 2016. Aiming to create a new fermentation culture, he is engaged in new businesses to expand the seed koji market. As a manager of a seed koji manufacturer, he gives lectures to convey koji both domestically and internationally. In 2022, he obtained a Master of Arts degree from Kyoto University of the Arts and currently teaches there. In 2024, he published his first book, "Hatsuko as Culture for Business Elites" (Asa Publishing).

Shoya Imai
Representative & Brewer of LINNÉ

Former WAKAZE Toji (sake brewmaster). After graduating from the Faculty of Agriculture at the University of Tokyo, he joined Oisix Ra Daichi as a new graduate and was involved in e-commerce, retail, and corporate planning. From 2015, he trained at sake breweries such as Aramasa Shuzo, Masuda Shuzo, Abe Shuzo, and Hijiri Shuzo, and in 2016 co-founded WAKAZE. After establishing breweries as the first Toji in Tokyo and Paris, and gaining 4.5 years of brewing experience in Paris and California, he returned to Japan in 2024 with the desire to "unlock the unknown potential of koji" to the world once again, establishing LINNÉ Co., Ltd. in April. His family runs Hijiri Shuzo in Gunma, founded in 1841. His eldest brother is the 8th kuramoto (brewery owner), his second eldest brother is a kurabito (brewery worker) at Nito in Aichi, and both his mother and grandmother also come from sake brewing families. photo:©AKANE

Takeshi Imasato
Executive Chef of Hotel Arc Riche Toyohashi

Born and raised in a family that ran a restaurant in Nagasaki Prefecture, he began his culinary career under Katsumi Uegakimoto, one of the leaders of the French culinary world in Japan. He trained at L'Hôtel de Hiei and French restaurants in Osaka, and after serving as the head chef of the main dining room when Hotel Arc Riche Toyohashi opened, he was appointed executive chef in 2014. He continues the concept of "local production for local consumption" and the cuisine that maximizes the quality of ingredients, which he has cultivated since the hotel's opening, delighting all five senses. As a member of the "Escoffier Association of Japan," he is committed to the development and promotion of French cuisine, and is also involved in activities and social contributions to make Higashi-Mikawa a sacred place for food creators within the "Higashi-Mikawa Food Valley Concept" promoted by the Sala Group, to which the hotel belongs.

Yohei Shiraishi
Research Director at Bioc Co., Ltd.

He majored in brewing science at Tokyo University of Agriculture Graduate School, studying under Professor Emeritus Takeo Koizumi, a leading authority on fermentation. After graduating, he joined Bioc Co., Ltd. From 2011, he was seconded to the National Research Institute of Brewing for about 1.5 years, engaging in koji mold research. He then earned his Ph.D. in Agriculture from Kagoshima University in 2017. In 2023, he received the Japan Brewing Association Technology Award for his research theme "Influence of Koji Mold Species on Flavor Formation in Imo Shochu." Since 2024, he has been an instructor at the School of Fermentation organized by the NPO Fermentation Culture Promotion Organization, expanding his activities by giving multiple lectures on brewing-related topics outside the company. Currently, he oversees the production and research departments as the research director of Bioc/Kojiya Sanzaemon.